Heart Disease News and Research

Latest Heart Disease News and Research

Early statin therapy may be essential for reducing mortality and other complications in heart attack victims

In the largest clinical study of its kind, UCLA researchers found that early treatment with a statin drug within 24 hours of having a heart attack reduced in-hospital mortality rates by over 50 percent.

29 Aug 2005

Depressant benzodiazepine especially effective at treating seizure in alcohol withdrawal syndrome patients

Tranquilizers work better than placebos at treating the symptoms of alcohol withdrawal syndrome but they may not work better than other drugs, according to a new review of recent studies.

29 Aug 2005

New understanding of role cholesterol plays in causing heart attacks, strokes

Research by a Michigan State University cardiologist published in the September edition of Clinical Cardiology has shed new light on the role that cholesterol plays in causing heart attacks, strokes and other cardiovascular events in humans.

29 Aug 2005

Coffee is the number one source of antioxidants in the U.S. diet

Coffee provides more than just a morning jolt; that steaming cup of java is also the number one source of antioxidants in the U.S. diet, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Scranton (Pa.).

29 Aug 2005

5-year-old British autistic boy dies after alternative therapy in U.S.

A 5-year-old British autistic boy has died after undergoing a controversial form of alternative therapy.

29 Aug 2005

Long-term hormone therapy used earlier in menopause is associated with fewer wrinkles

Long-term hormone therapy used earlier in menopause is associated with fewer wrinkles and less skin rigidity in postmenopausal women, Yale School of Medicine researchers report in the August issue of Fertility and Sterility.

28 Aug 2005

Continued race and sex disparities heart attack care

Differences based on race and sex in treatment patterns for hospitalized American heart attack patients have remained unchanged over an eight-year period, despite improvements in quality of heart attack care during this time, Emory and Yale School of Medicine researchers write in the August 18 issue of New England Journal of Medicine.

28 Aug 2005

Ways to avoid hazards of heart bypass under study

The heart-lung bypass machine that stills the heart while surgeons bypass an adult’s clogged arteries or repair a baby’s malformed heart can also trigger a potentially deadly inflammatory response.

28 Aug 2005

UCI study helps identify one reason why women have lower stroke risk than men

Estrogen's role as an inhibitor of toxic-free radicals in cerebral blood vessels may be a key reason why premenopausal women have a lower stroke risk than men.

26 Aug 2005

Inflammation plays an important role in post-operative stroke

Duke University Medical Center researchers have discovered that patients who have two specific gene variants are more than three times as likely to suffer a stroke after heart surgery.

26 Aug 2005

Campaign for tougher anti-smoking laws stepped up

The British Medical Association (BMA) has stepped up it's campaign for tougher anti-smoking laws with a blunt warning to the health secretary, Patricia Hewitt, that her current plans are a virtual death sentence for some bar staff.

25 Aug 2005

Study continues to support margarine's use in heart-healthy diets

A new study gives the "thumbs up" to soft, trans fat-free margarines in terms of foods that can help reduce the risk of heart disease.

25 Aug 2005

Call for closer examination of a metabolic syndrome

Two major health organizations in Europe and the United States are calling for closer examination of a syndrome that has been widely believed to predict the risk of developing heart disease, questioning whether it has been appropriately defined and whether it is in fact a syndrome at all.

25 Aug 2005

Stem cells with heart bypass surgery trial to begin

The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) has been granted approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to conduct a clinical trial to determine the safety and feasibility of injecting a patient's own bone marrow-derived stem cells directly into the heart during conventional heart bypass surgery.

25 Aug 2005

Coronary angioplasty increases risk of developing Alzheimer's disease

Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) researchers have discovered that patients who have either coronary artery bypass graft surgery or coronary angioplasty are at an increased risk of developing Alzheimer's disease.

25 Aug 2005

Experimental immunusuppressant drug preserves transplanted kidneys

An international team of transplant physicians has shown that the investigational drug belatacept (LEA29Y) preserves transplanted kidney function as effectively as cyclosporine, the drug most commonly used to prevent the immune system from rejecting transplanted organs.

24 Aug 2005

Using muscle tissue from tarantulas scientists discover how muscles relax

Using muscle tissue from tarantulas, an HHMI international research scholar and his colleagues have figured out the detailed structure and arrangement of the miniature molecular motors that control movement.

24 Aug 2005

Administering Aspirin at onset of heart attack is standard EMT protocol

New survey results indicate that emergency medical providers are administering aspirin to patients at the onset of a suspected heart attack. McNeil Consumer & Specialty Pharmaceuticals, a division of McNeil-PPC, Inc. and makers of the trusted St. Joseph brand, now make it more convenient and accessible for consumers to take aspirin when faced with a heart attack situation.

24 Aug 2005

New drug that selectively blocks immune responses protects kidneys after transplant

In an international clinical trial, a new drug that selectively blocks immune responses has proved as effective in preventing acute kidney transplant rejection as cyclosporine, the standard anti-rejection treatment.

24 Aug 2005